Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Kneurotic

Last night, I dreamt that I had finished the christening shawl.

It was washed, blocked, ends worked in. A hint of lavender permeated the tens of thousands of tiny stitches. From across the lake came a magnificent summer breeze, tickling the scalloped edges and making them dance.

I tossed it into the air and watched it drift, like a homing angel, back into my arms. I spread it out before me on the green grass, and noticed that I had spelled two of the words in the inscription incorrectly.

I woke up in a cold sweat, jumped out of bed, turned on the lights, grabbed the shawl and checked three times to make certain that there were no typographical errors in my knitting. Ten minutes later, back in bed, I was still shaking. Fifteen minutes later, I got up and checked it again.

The shawl will be finished and blocked by tomorrow night, just in time to head to Maine for the christening. But I've become a little afraid to actually wrap this thing around the baby. If it's at all true that the Spirit of the Knitter pervades his work, Abigail will grow up to be a neurotic, compulsive copy editor.

64 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Oh Franklin, that dream is so sad, but yet so hysterically funny!! I'm glad it was purely a figment of your imagination though! Good luck at the christening and I'm sure Abigail will not grow up to be a copy editor! lol

My mom has this birthday decoration--you know, the words strung together made out of posterboard? It says: "Happy Birtday"--we didn't notice until I was twelve. It's horrible to have dreams like that. I can't wait to see it.

Franklin, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but there are those who suggest that the results you fear are caused not by being swathed in lovingly stitched handmade things, but simply by having been named Abigail. But the good news is that if *I* eventually managed to loosen up a little, there's hope for any obsessive Abigail out there.

I'd probably have checked the shawl a third time. In fact, just hearing about your dream makes me want to go check all my works in progress carefully for anything similar.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that neurotic. I just started lace knitting this last week, something ludicrously simple (Branching Out) and I've frogged it and started over god knows how many times. It's like a knitting video game: see how many repeats you get before you screw up and then, GAME OVER.

I'm up to two, and have learned how to use a life line, which feels a bit like restoring from a saved game.

...and if its true that she we gain some of you from that shawl...then that also means she will grow up with a sense of humor, intelligence, talent, creativit and to be an observant, caring person...

granted i only "know" you from what you write but this part of you that you share on your blog is pretty great and i feel fortunate to be allowed to share in some of your words, thoughts, art and ideas...so though i can't know you for all that you are...this part that is here is pretty amazing if some of this comes through you to the shawl and to her...she will be fortunate and a great person...

When I first started knitting, I made like 30 scarves in 6 weeks. I kept them all in the car for some reason and I used to have this recurring nightmare that someone was stealing my car and I was running behind it screaming, "JUST THROW OUT THE KNIIIIIITTTTTTIIIIIINNNNNGG!

Franklin, I see typos. (I feel obliged to use a cavernous voice..."I see dead words".) I see them when they flash by on tv screens, on signboards as I drive past.. and that is SUCH a dream like I might have. I'm safe though; no way I could knit words in. And Abigail? May she wear that lace on her wedding day and smile at you as she sees you. Blessings on her and her christening - and on her family and especially that one Uncle.

My mom used to tell me that great needle artists used to work a mistake into their work on purpose, because a perfect piece is bad luck, as if you're trying to compete with the gods, to whom perfection belongs. I can't see how this is possibly helping you... oh forget it...

I've had those dreams. {shudder, twitch} I prefer to think it means Abigail will be as beautiful as the shawl. You're merely overwhelmed by the beauty you've created. (Hey, man, I'm having a damned Chicken Soup moment, just go with it!)

You, the man who knit words into the yoke of his first sweater, worrying about typos? Yeah, I can dig it.

Typos in a shawl. That's a far greater nightmare than print screwups. Worthy of a huge anxiety attack. I was a copy editor for several years, a job I loved. However, that's exactly why I don't knit words. Because I know where my attention span ends.

All negative vibes wash out or are removed during blocking, leaving only the love, attention to detail, hopes for a vibrant future, prayers, mantras, and all the other beautiful things you have brought/are bringing/will bring to this shawl.

And, folks, it's properly pronounced as "O (period) C (period) D (period)." My house doesn't know I have a touch of it, but the rest of my life is certain.

After _1000 Knitters_ the next book will be _Unclehood: Knitting for Abigail_.

Oh dear. I think I'd probably be a touch over the edge, too. That is such an important shawl. BUT...it's stunning - Abigail will love it down the pike when she's old enough to appreciate such things.And you're just a teddy bear of a doting uncle.(now...go get some sleep!)(((hugs)))

The shawl is perfect, even if your nightmare had been true and there'd been a misspelling it would have made it nonetheless precious. I'm with everyone else, I'm looking forward to seeing beautiful Abigail wrapped in her beautiful new shawl.

Ah, but the beauty of the editing business is that it's expected that everyone makes mistakes! that's why there are so many layers of editing and proofing - maybe this shawl will help Abigail accept that she'll make many mistakes in life, and realize she'll need to rely on her uncle and many other "proofers" to get it right :)

Fear not the compulsive neurotic in us all. I've lived my entire adult life as a neurotic, compulsive copy editor. The same tendencies that make me a good copy editor make me a decent beginner knitter: attention to detail, the ability to rip out and correct things and perfectionism.

Dear Franklin, it is just as likely that she will be spirited with your creativity, generosity, fabulous imagination and gentle loving soul. I can't think of a better gift for your niece than to have an uncle as wonderful as you!

For their wedding, my brother and his now ex-wife got a framed filet-crochet hanging of their last name. It was lovely, but, unfortunately, misspelled. Now, the name is a little different, but very common where I grew up, and the woman who crocheted it had known dozens of people with that last name for most of her life. "What do you say?" (besides thank you) was quickly followed by "How did this happen?"

Anyway -- a long way of saying that proof-reading your knitting is not a bad idea!

If the spirit of the knitter has invaded the shawl it will be a good thing, as the spirit of the knitter was filled with love and awe and wonder for the next generation of his family. What could possibly be better?

What little I could discern of the blessings via stitched thread (Did I imagine the words 'Rise Above'?) lifted my soul, as did the suggestion that Abigail may one day wear your loving work of knit art as a wedding veil. This translates as overwhelming approval from KnBloggers! I've heard that what we substitute for self-critical zingers can change our outlook, so I vote for "learned, inspirational, artistic loving Unky." Repeat until you believe.

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